A decade or so ago, powdered detergent products of increased density began to appear on the market. Accompanying such products were packages which were quite different from those generally used for powdered detergents. The new packages typically included upper closure flaps which together with portions of the front and two side panels formed a recloseable lid for the container once the container was opened, as by separating a line of weakness extending through the first side panel, the front panel and the second side panel.
A problem attendant to the new concentrated detergent powder containers was the difficulty in keeping the lid closed once it had been opened. Various locking mechanisms have been proposed in, e.g., Gunn et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,960, Stone, U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,996, Stone, U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,374, Ruehl, U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,734, and Roccaforte, U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,987.
The present invention is directed to a new solution to the problem of keeping reclosed detergent cartons locked. In accordance with the present invention, the detergent carton includes a liner having a lip or flap on one or more walls of the liner. Typically, the lip or flap will extend from the top wall. The lip is received within, or held by, an opening, debossment or embossment in one or more of the front or side panels of the carton to relock the cover of the carton after it has been initially opened. Typically, the flap-receiving opening, debossment or embossment will be present either on the front panel or on the first and second side panels. Generally, the lip or flap will be present extending from an upper end of the front wall or from the first and second side wall of a three- or more wall liner.
The present invention is more sparing of resources than some of the other proposed solutions to carton relocking. Consequently, it is a lower cost alternative. The ability to keep the lid or cover closed in between uses not only reduces the chance of powder spillage, but also improves moisture barrier effects to thereby retard powder lumping. Since an opening will decrease moisture barrier properties, a debossment or an embossment is preferred herein.
The liner is preferably a 3xc2xc sided liner which is adhered to the inner front, side and/or rear panels of the carton. The flap-receiving opening may be a longitudinally extending slit and the flap or lip may correspondingly extend longitudinally across the upper end, or much of the upper end, of the liner wall. Alternatively, the feature on the carton panel which corresponds to the flap or lip and which locks it into place is a debossment or embossment which may be in the shape of e.g., a ridge, again corresponding to the edge of the flap or lip.
The debossed ridge may be provided with a series of horizontal or vertical perforations and provides an interference or stop with the front edge or side edges of the liner lip(s). The liner can be manufactured in a nesting pattern so that the lip material is taken from the bottom of the liner, resulting in no need for additional paperboard.
Generally, the lip or flap will be folded downwardly so as best to interfere with the opening or debossment on the carton panel. Preferably the debossment, embossment or opening is positioned so that it is always below the bottom edge of the lip when the lid is closed. If desired, a series of horizontal or vertical perforations may be provided to the debossment or opening to enhance the interference or stoppage and to hold the lip in the closed position.
By xe2x80x9cembossmentxe2x80x9d herein is meant a raising of the surface of the relevant structure. It does not refer to extensions, e.g., additional flaps or lips appended to a structure.
For a more complete understanding of the above and other features and advantages of the invention, reference should be made to the following description of the preferred embodiments.